Bottle-sealing device.



No.685-,225. Patented Oct. 22, I90l.

n. SCHMITT.

BOTTLE SEALING DEVICE.

(Application filed Feb. 2, 1901.)

(No Modl.)

WITNESSES 'INVEIVTOH A TTOHNEY PATENT OFFICE.'

EDWARD D. SOHMITT, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

TO THE UNIVERSAL SEAL AND STOPPER COMPANY, OF

BOTTLE-SEALING DEVICE.

$PECIFIGATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 685,225, dated October 22, 1901. Application filed February 2, 1901. Serial No. 45,721. 7 (No model.)

To all whom, it mayrconcern: Be it known that I, EDWARD D. SCHMITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have in- Vented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Sealing Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,- and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains IO to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

his invention relates to new and useful improvements in bottle-sealing devices especially adapted for sealing charged beverages.

Objections are made to seals of the cap type, in which the seal is effected between the sealing-disk and the edge of the bottleneck, in that when the bottles in handling become chipped, as they frequently do, an absolutely air-tight seal cannot be made and the bottles are rendered useless.

One of the principal objects ofv my inven- 2 5 tion is to overcome these objections, and I do so by efiecting the sealin the neck of the bottle, a place that is protected and cannot possibly be affected by use in such a way as to prevent an absolutely perfect seal as long as 0 the bottle lasts.

A further object is to provide a seal inexpensive in itself and which may be reused as many times as desired, a seal simple in operation and construction, and one which will not require a special tool to apply or remove the same.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the course of the following description, and the points wherein novelty con-' sists will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings illustratingmy invention, Figure 1 represents a section of the upper portion of a bottle forming part of my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar View of the bottle 5 with the sealing device in the position it would assume just before the seal is effected. Fig. 8 is a sectional View showing the bottle sealed. Fig. tis'a detail perspective view of the securing member. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of another form of securing member.- Figs.6 and 7 are modifications showing in-j ternal formations of the bottle-neck with i which seals can be made in accordance with my invention. v

In carrying out my invention I form a bottle with an annular inclined shoulder 1 in the neck thereof inclining downwardly from a point a, Fig. 1, preferably at about an angle of thirty degrees to the side walls 2 of the bottle-neck. At the bottom of said walls an annular shoulder 3 is formed with which sealing contact is made, the said shoulders and walls forming a chamber 19.

The numeral 4 designates what I term the securing member, which is formed of a sufficiently wide strip of spring metal slightly curved, as indicated at 5, so as to conform to the curve of the interior of the bottle-neck, but fiat, as shown at 6, so as to be conven iently attached by any suitable means to the sealing member 7. This securing memberis formed with oppositely disposed inclined spring-arms 8, bent to form a horizontal cross piece 9 at its lower portion and inclined shoulders 10 near its terminals, which are extended a desirable distance above the mouth of the bottle, forming straightvertiCal arms 11, by

the aid of which the spring-arms are pressed toward each other when it is desired to unseal the bottle.

In efiecting a seal the securing member and sealing member, which latter may be formed of any suitable material-such as cork, suitably-faced tin, wood, or the like-are placed in the neck of the bottle and forced down 1111- til the sealing member is made to make sealing contact with the shoulder 3. The securing member in entering the mouth of the bottle will have its arms pressed together until said member has passed far enough to permit its arms to expand into the chamber 6, bringing the shoulders 10 into engagement under the inclined shoulder 1 of the bottle-neck. Obviously the tendency of the spring-arms to separate will bring their shoulders against the inclined shoulders in the bottle-neck with considerable force and exert a downward pressure upon the sealing member in proportion to the distance they separate against the inclined shoulders of the bottle-neck, which in turn depends upon the stiffness of the spring. This seal being especially adapted for sealing charged beverages, such as beer, the internal pressure of the beverage is utilized to some extent in my invention to effect an air-tight sealthat is to say, as the pressure exerts an upward force upon the sealing member 7 said force is brought against the horizontal cross-piece of the securing memher, which it will be seen is considerably narrower than the width of said member at the part where the shoulders 10 are provided and will have a tendency to cause the arms to separate, and thus wedge the said shoulders more closely against the shoulder 1 and cause them to ride down the said shoulders 1. Of course it will be understood that this movement is so infinitesimal as to be scarcely worthy of mention, and the utilization of the internal pressure is merely incidental to the formation of the bottle-neck and the securing member, but is by no means essential.

To remove the seal, it is only necessary to press the arms 11 toward each other with the thumb and forefinger for a distance sufficient to disengage the shoulders 10 from the shoulder 1 of the bottle-neck, and the securing and sealing members will be forced out by the pressure in the bottle. The arms 11 may be bent approximately at right angles, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 2, for the purpose of presenting a convenient hold for the hand in unsealing the bottle, or as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3. Either of these modifications shown in dotted lines may be used to advantage where the bottle sealed does not contain liquid under pressure, which would force the securing member and the sealing member carried thereby out of the bottle.

In Fig. 5 the securing member is so shaped as to form a substantially circular bearing portion 12, adapted to bear upon the sealing member at all points of the shoulder 3. In this form the sealing member may be made just the size of the portion 12, which would be wide enough to bridge the shoulder 3 and make sealing contact therewith.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that a particularly cheap seal is provided and one that is so inconsiderable that it may be thrown away with trivial loss, yet which can be used over and over again, if desired, thus in cases where very large quantities are used eifectin g a very great saving.

Having described the form which I consider preferable, I will now proceed to describe the modifications shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. '7 the internal formation of the bottleneck is precisely that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, with the exception that a straight shoulder 13 is provided instead of the inclined shoulder 1. The inclined shoulders 10 of the securing member engage this straight shoulder when it expands, and thus exerts a downward pressure upon the sealing member. In

Fig. 7 the uppershoulderis dispensed with and internal inclined walls 14 provided, against which the securing member expands.

I claim- 1. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle having an inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, of a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a spring-metal securing member having engagement with the inclined shoulder and bearing upon the sealing member and having a constant tendency to expand against the said inclined shoulder whereby the sealing member is firmly seated upon the lower shoulder, substantially as described.

2. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle formed with an inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, a scaling member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a spring-metal securing member formed with arms having inclined shoulders thereof adapted to engage the inclined shoulders, and a portion adapted to bear upon the sealing member whereby the sealin g member is caused to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder when the shoulders on the arms are in engagement with the inclined shoulder in the bottle-neck, substantially as described.

3. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle having an annular inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, of a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a springmetal securing member having inclined shoulders in engagement with the inclined shoulder in the bottle-neck. and bearing upon the sealing member, whereby the same is firmly seated upon the lower shoulder, and means carried by the securing member to disengage it from the inclined shoulder to unseal the bottle, substantially as described.

4. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle formed with an inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a spring-metal securing member formed with arms extending abovethe mouth of the bottle for the purpose set forth and inclined shoulders to engage the inclined shoulder in the bottle-neck, and a portion adapted to bear upon the sealing member whereby the same is firmly seated upon the lower shoulder and made to form sealing contact therewith, substantially as set forth.

5. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle formed with an inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a spring-metal securing member formed with arms having inclined shoulders thereon to engage the inclined shoulders in the bottleneck and a portion adapted to bear upon the sealing member, whereby the said sealing member is caused to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, and means for com.- pressing the arms of the securing member to disengage the shoulders thereof from the in-' clined shoulder in the bottle-neck, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle formed with an inclined shoulder in the neck thereof and a shoulder below said inclined shoulder, of a spring-metal securing member formed with arms having inclined shoulders thereon adapted to engage the inclined shoulder in the bottle-neck, and carrying a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder when the inclined shoulders on the arms expand into engagement with the said inclined shoulder,

' and means for compressing the arms of the securing member to remove the seal, substantially as described.

7. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle having an annular shoulder near the mouth thereof and a shoulder below said firstmentioned shoulder, of a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, a spring-metalsecuring mem-' ber engaging the upper shoulder and expanding against the upper shoulder with a constant tendency to exert adownward pressure on the sealing member, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle having an annular shoulder near the mouth thereof and a second shoulder below the first-mentioned shoulder, of a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder, of a spring-metal securing member having inclined shoulders thereon substantially as described.-

the upper shoulder.

9. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle formed with an annular shoulder in the neck thereof and walls inclining inwardly 'an'd upwardly toward the bottle-mouth, of a sealing inember adapted to make sealing contact with said shoulder, a spring-metal securing member formed with arms having inclined shoulders thereon and extended beyond the bottle-mouth for the purpose described, said inclined shoulders on the securing member bearing against the inclined walls of the bottle-neck, and a lower portion adapted to bear upon the sealing member,

10. In a bottle-seal, the combination with a bottle having an annular shoulder near the mouth thereof and a shoulder below said firstmentioned shoulder, of a sealing member adapted to make sealing contact with the lower shoulder,a spring-metal securing member engaging the upper shoulder and expanding against said uppershoulder with a constant tendency to exert a downward pressure olfthe sealing member, means carried by the securing member whereby it can be compressed to unseal the bottle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD D. SOI-IMITT.

Witnesses:

Tnos. K. LE BROU,- CAMPBELL CARRINGTON. 

